Best Cars I Drove in 2016

"SPAMBot - Horse Doctor" (spambot2002) 12/19/2016 at 17:14 • Filed to: None

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The story on the front page inspired me to make a list of the best cars I drove in 2016. They are in no particular order:

2016 Mustang GT – Rented From Hertz to drive up the coast. Auto Box took some lulz out of the trip but I want to test drive a manual. Still, a very nice car with some cool gimmicks and 435 HP. What’s not to love?

2006 (I think) M5 – The car and screaming v10 were tremendously awesome. I would have bought this pristine, one owner example on the spot if it wasn’t equipped the tragic SMG transmission.

Cayman gt4 – Automotive perfection. I will buy one if they ever depreciate.

Ferrari 348 – This car is the analog to the digital gt4. Bought it and I’m never looking back.

Ferrari F430 Scuderia – The same friend with the gt4 let me take a quick spin in this. Everything is so raw and almost twitchy. You could feel the clutch working through the hardly padded seats. The car was super stiff and high strung. I would love to try this on a track but not on a trip to Starbucks.

2006 911 Carrera S – The 911 is not the Camry of sports car for no reason. I could see myself DD’ing this car. It’s too bad they are so common around LA.

2 of the top six are in this picture

If you would like to know more about any car on the list, ask away! Post your favorite cars below as well!!

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 17:16

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2006 is 997, not 991.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 12/19/2016 at 17:17

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You are correct! I meant I meant to type 997 911 and must have just combined them. Editing now!

TysMagic > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 17:25

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I love that era M5. Perhaps one day I will own such a v10 marvel...but only when I have the money to safely relpace all the everything that will go wrong

Clemsie McKenzie > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 17:25

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Did you post anything on here about the 348? Sounds awesome!

E90M3 > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 17:29

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Only good thing about the SMG vs the 6MT in the E60 is that you can turn off DSC in the SMG car, you can’t in the 6MT car. You know, sometimes the question “why aren’t there any black tire marks here?” arrises.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 17:34

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That era M V10 was pretty cool - it’s incredible to see where we’re at now with smaller engines (albeit turbocharged) in new cars that end up being significantly quicker. I like to think of it as more of a racing engine since all that power and torque is on the top end - come to think of it, I think it’s loosely related, or at least inspired, by BMW racing engines.

In any case, I found an old photo that I took from the BMW display in Munich, almost 9 years ago at this point:

Saracen > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 17:37

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I will be buying a 997 soon. I think their relative anonymity is a good thing.

Sam > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 17:47

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The 430 Scuderia is one of my ultimate dream cars. It took the decent shape of the F430 and made it look really good and really fast. The best car I drove, though, was a Gallardo Superleggera. Followed by a Boostang rental. It’s hard to top a rental Mustang of any kind, really, especially when they’re still new and nice.

Sam > gin-san - shitpost specialist 12/19/2016 at 17:48

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Not only are they new cars, butthey are much heavier cars. A V6 Camry has almost 300hp nowadays!

Sam > E90M3 12/19/2016 at 17:49

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Lame. I would have assumed that DSC in the 6MT was your right foot.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > Sam 12/19/2016 at 17:58

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I’d imagine that’s why the new turbo engines in the new cars are so much faster - apart from further development and refinement of transmissions (i.e. good DCTs instead of the SMG system of that period) the available, usable power is available low down and gets these heavy beasts moving. I’m sure it’s an oversimplification, but you’re right, it’s neat to see Camrys with that kind of power output. Heck, it was only 5 years ago or so where Mustang V6s broke the 300hp mark from the factory.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Sam 12/19/2016 at 18:10

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I would love to drive any iteration of the Gallardo! Sounds like a blast.

The rental stang (Gt Premium) got an unbelievable amount of attention. It was very shocking. And the fastest car in the world is a rental. Doubly so when it is a RWD pedestrian kill machine haha

BeaterGT > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 18:12

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I drove a V10 R8 on a track...and nothing else came close enough to mention.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Saracen 12/19/2016 at 18:12

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It’s good and bad. I don’t always want to talk to every stranger about my cars but it is flattering to get a thumbs up every once in a while.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > gin-san - shitpost specialist 12/19/2016 at 18:14

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That is beautiful!

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > E90M3 12/19/2016 at 18:15

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Really?? That is lame. I don’t know that I would do many smokey burnouts in a car that high-strung but I would like the option!

Sam > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 18:16

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We were amazed how many looks the Boostang got. These new Mustangs get a lot of attention still. And they’ve been around for like 2 years now, right?

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Clemsie McKenzie 12/19/2016 at 18:18

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Not really anything significant yet. I have 2 or 3 posts coming though. I have the outline done for one and a few paragraphs on another. I just need to find time to write them. Hopefully I’ll have time during our winter closure! I’m planning on talking about the hunt, buying process, quirks, and 5 minute review. Coming soon!!

BeaterGT > E90M3 12/19/2016 at 18:18

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It’s like they don’t want us to have fun.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > TysMagic 12/19/2016 at 18:20

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I would love to have one but I will need a very reliable DD to go along with it. My DD is only sorta reliable. haha

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Sam 12/19/2016 at 18:22

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The horsepower wars are crazy. It is weird to think about enthusiasts bitching about “only” 300 HP. Yes, cars are fat and bloated but power numbers are through the roof. Not that I am complaining ;)

arl > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 18:23

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Would like to read your posts on Ferrari ownership and the 348; so post away!

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > BeaterGT 12/19/2016 at 18:24

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That is incredible! Dual clutch or 6 speed?

BeaterGT > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 18:26

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Dual clutch, it was a blast. I’m glad it wasn’t the 6 speed because I really wanted to get in and push right away.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Sam 12/19/2016 at 18:27

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I think the early 2015's were delivered in late 2014. I’ve been drooling over the dark gray GT350 in my area but I still turn my head every time a see a GT with the performance pack. Historically, I am not a ford fan, but they knocked this one out of the park. Let’s hope the face lift due in 2018 keeps the trend!

E90M3 > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 18:30

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Yup, back in high school a friend had a 2007 M6 with a 6MT, it was his parents car but he was the one that always drove it, and we tried to figure out how to disable the DSC and couldn’t find it. Doing some research confirmed that you couldn’t disable it in the 6MT cars, both M5/6. I mean I wouldn’t really ever turn it off, but I’d like to be able to.

I was in Tusla OK for 6 weeks of training and I had two other engineers in the car with me. I got to an empty part of a mall parking lot, turned off DSC, starting laughing, dropped it back to 2nd and started spinning my car. I normally don’t do that, but you know sometimes you just have to.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > BeaterGT 12/19/2016 at 18:31

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I think the 6 speed would be tough your first go. The manual was gated in the R8, right? If you are driving on a track, paddles definitely make sense. So much more to take your focus and a missed shift at 10/10 is disastrous.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > arl 12/19/2016 at 18:33

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Will do! The car is very rewarding when you get everything right. Quite the opposite when you get things wrong :p

Saracen > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 18:34

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My 2012 Golf R got a very surprising amount of attention when it was brand new. Even when I brought it to the Irvine Cars & Coffee! It made me a bit uncomfortable.

BeaterGT > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 18:34

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Exactly, and yup the 6 speed of the same year would have been gated. I rather experience the gated manual driving on the road than on the track. Just threw it in “auto” and paddled away!

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > BeaterGT 12/19/2016 at 18:39

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You should make a post! It’s good to hear one is being used on the track. I mostly see them cruising at 25 mph in my beach town. Haha

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Saracen 12/19/2016 at 18:41

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Nice!! I got a bit of attention when I still had the hardtop on my Miata. I was always like uhhhhhh, ..., thank you. I was caught so off-guard.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > E90M3 12/19/2016 at 18:44

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I still do the occasional freedom donut in the Miata. It’s hard to find a “safe”, secluded area that isn’t private property in LA though.

BeaterGT > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 18:48

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I thought about it but the video came out kinda lame. This is all you really need to see ;).

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > BeaterGT 12/19/2016 at 18:52

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What a sinister looking car! I really like the gray with black wheels combo.

Dusty Ventures > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor 12/19/2016 at 19:52

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This was the best car I drove this year. The rest of the list is made up of rally cars and my OBXT

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Dusty Ventures 12/19/2016 at 20:00

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That looks like a ton of fun!